EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Leviticus 25:1-55
Leviticus
*Worship the *LORD in the Beauty of *Holiness
Leviticus
Gordon Churchyard
This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.Words in boxes are from the Bible, except for the words in brackets (…).
Chapter 25
Special years in the *Jewish calendar
v1 The *LORD said (this) to Moses at the mountain (called) Sinai.
v2 ‘Speak to the *Israelites and say (this) to them. “Do this in the land (country) that I will give to you. (Allow) the land to have a *Sabbath for the *LORD.
v3 You will sow (seeds) in your fields for 6 years. You will look after your *vineyards and you will gather the fruits for 6 years.
v4 Then, in the 7th year, your land will have a rest. It will be a special *Sabbath for the *LORD. You will not sow (seeds in) your fields, nor work in your *vineyards.
v5 (During the 7th year,) you must not gather the crops that will grow without your efforts. You must not harvest *grapes from the *vines where you have not worked. The land must have a whole year of special rest.
v6 Whatever (food) the land gives to you in the *Sabbath Year will be food for you. Also, (it will be food) for your male and female servants. Also (it will be food) for the people whom you pay to work for you. And (it will be food) for the guest who stays with you.
v7 And (it will be food) for all the animals on your land, whether they are wild or tame. All that (the land) gives you will be (your) food.
v8 You will count 7 *sabbaths of years. This is 7 times 7 years. So 7 *sabbaths of years means 49 years.
v9 Then you will make a sound on the *trumpet. (You will do this) on the 10th day of the 7th month. You will make a sound on the *trumpet on the Day of *Atonement through all your country.
v10 You will declare that the 50th year is holy. You will announce freedom in your country to everybody who lives there. It will be a *Jubilee Year for you. Everybody will return to the property that belongs to his family. And each (one) of you will return to his family.
v11 It will be the *Jubilee Year for you, (that is,) the 50th year. You must not sow (seeds). You must not harvest what sows itself. You must not gather (*grapes) from the *vines where you have not worked.
v12 It is your *Jubilee Year, and it will be holy for you. (In it) you will eat what your fields produce.
v13 In the *Jubilee Year, everybody must return to his (family’s) property.
v14 You may sell property to someone in your country. Or you may buy (property) from someone in your country. If so, do not (use this rule to) make an (unfair) profit from each other.
v15 If you want to buy a man’s land, then count the number of years since the last *Jubilee Year. (Use that number to decide the right price). Remember this. He is only selling you the right to harvest the crops until the next *Jubilee Year.
v16 If there are a lot of years (before the next *Jubilee Year), then the price will be high. If there are only a few years (until the next *Jubilee Year), then the price will be lower. The man is only selling that number of harvests to you.
v17 You must not make (unfair) profits from each other, but you must give honour to God. (Remember) that I am the *LORD your God.
v18 Remember and obey (all) my laws and rules. Then (I will allow you) to remain safely in the land (the country called *Canaan).
v19 Then the land will produce (good) crops for you. You will have plenty to eat. You will live there safely.
v20 You might ask (these questions). ‘What shall we eat in the 7th year if we do not plant crops? What shall we eat if we do not gather the harvest?’
v21 I will be especially kind to you during the 6th year. (During that year,) the land will produce enough food for 3 years.
v22 When you plant (crops) during the 8th year, you will eat (food) from the old harvest. You will continue to eat (food) from the old harvest until the 9th year. Then there will be a new harvest.
v23 The land really belongs to me. So you cannot sell it permanently (to someone else). You will be like foreigners who rent my land.
v24 People might sell their land, but they will always get it back (in the *Jubilee Year). That is so across the whole country that you will receive as a possession.
v25 One of your brothers may become poor, (so that) he has to sell some of his property. Then, his closest relative must come to buy back (the property) that his brother has sold.
v26 But the man may have nobody to buy it back (for him). And, (later), he may earn enough money to buy back (the property).
v27 Then he must calculate its value for the years since he sold it. He must return the money to the person to whom he sold (the property). Then he can return to his property.
v28 But he may not gain enough money (to buy it back). Then, the buyer will keep the property until the *Jubilee Year. Then, in the *Jubilee Year, the man will get his property back. He can return to his own property.
v29 Someone may sell a house in a city that has walls (all round it). He has the right to buy it back for a year after its sale. But he can only buy it back during that year.
v30 If he does not buy it back in that year, then the house will always belong to the buyer. (The buyer) may give it to his *descendants. It will not belong again to the seller in the *Jubilee Year.
v31 However, if the house is in a village without walls all round it, then it is (like) a field. The seller can always buy it back. It will belong to him again in the *Jubilee Year.
v32 Some cities will belong to the *Levites. (If a *Levite sells) a house in such a city, he may buy it back at any time.
v33 Any one of the *Levites may do this. Also, a house in the city will again belong to the *Levites in the *Jubilee Year. That is because houses in the *Levites’ cities are their possession among the *Israelites.
v34 But they must not sell the fields outside their cities. These field must always be the possession (of the *Levites).
v35 One of your brothers may become poor so that he cannot provide (food for himself). You must help him as you would help a foreigner (in your country). Also (as you would help) someone with a temporary home among you. Then, (your poor brother) can continue to live among you.
v36 Do not charge him money for a loan. Respect your God’s (laws). Then your brother may continue to live among you.
v37 You must not lend him money and charge him for it. You must not sell him food and make a profit.
v38 I am the *LORD (who is) your God. I brought you out of (the country called) Egypt to give to you the country called *Canaan. (I did this so that) I would be your God.
v39 One of your brothers may become poor and he may sell himself to you. But you must not make him do the work of a slave.
v40 You must deal with him as a wage earner, or as a temporary worker. He must work for you until the *Jubilee Year.
v41 Then you must allow him and his children to become free again. He can return to his family and to the property that his father’s (family) owned.
v42 (Do this) because (the *Israelites) are my servants. I brought them out of (the country called) Egypt. You must not sell them for the price of slaves.
v43 You must not rule them cruelly. You must respect your God.
v44 You must get your male and female slaves from the countries that surround you. You may buy male and female slaves from them.
v45 You may also buy (your slaves) from people who have temporary homes among you. Also, from their families who are among you and who have been born in your country. They will become your property.
v46 You may also give them to your children as their property (when you die). You may make them always to serve you. You may deal with them as slaves. But you must not rule over other *Israelites cruelly; they are like your brothers.
v47 A foreigner, or somebody who has a temporary home among you, may become rich. One of your brothers (who lives) near him may become poor. He may sell himself to the foreigner or to the person who has a temporary home among you. (He may sell himself) to a member of the foreigner’s family.
v48 (Your brother) still has the right to buy himself back after he has sold himself. Or one of his brothers may buy him back.
v49 Or his uncle or his cousin may buy him back. Or a relative from his larger family may buy him back. Or, if he does well, he may buy himself back.
v50 He and his owner must calculate the price of his sale. They must count the years from when he sold himself until the *Jubilee Year. They must calculate how much a worker would earn in that number of years. (So they must work out the price for his freedom.)
v51 But there may be many years (until the *Jubilee Year). Then the (brother) must give back a large part of the price. The amount will depend on the number of years.
v52 But only a few years may remain until the *Jubilee Year. Then, the (brother) must pay a small part of the original price.
v53 The foreigner must deal with your brother as a worker that he has hired each year. You must make sure that the foreigner does not rule (your brother) cruelly.
v54 But perhaps nobody buys him back in any of these ways. Then (your brother) must go free in the *Jubilee Year. Both he and his children must go free, v55 because the *Israelites are my servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of (the country called) Egypt. I am the *LORD (who is) your God.” ’
Notes
This chapter continues the list of special times and days that began in Leviticus chapter 23. As well as *Sabbath Days, there must be *Sabbath Years. Also, after 7 *Sabbath Years, there must be a very special year on the 50th year. This is called a *Jubilee Year. All this is about freedom. On the 7th year, the land is free from seeds and harvests. On the 50th year, people are free. The idea of the *Jubilee Year reminds the *Jews of these things.
The *LORD had made them free from Egypt.
The land belonged to the *LORD, and the *Jews could not always own it.
The *Jews must trust God to provide their food.
The land itself must be free from seeds and harvests in some years.
So the *Jews had to prepare for *Sabbath Years and *Jubilee Years. They had to keep enough food for them. Life would be simple in the *Sabbath Years, as it was on the way from Egypt to *Israel. Most people would not live through more than one *Jubilee Year.
These rules about *Sabbath Years and *Jubilee Years help us to understand the real meaning of the *Sabbath. The *Sabbath is not only about a pause from our usual work. It is about the special time when we *worship God. And especially, it is about the rest and the freedom that God gives to his people (Hebrews 4:9-11).
Real Christians have already started to receive that rest and freedom (Matthew 11:28-30). But this is just the beginning. In the future, God will defeat all his enemies (1 Corinthians 15:20-28). And then he will establish his rule in the New Jerusalem. There God’s people will always have perfect rest and freedom as they *worship him (Revelation 21:1-5).
But only the people who really are God’s people will know that rest and freedom. The freedom that God gave in the *Jubilee Year was only for God’s people, the *Israelites. God gave them freedom because, as he said, ‘They are my servants’ – verses 42 and 55.
We do not know whether a proper *Jubilee Year has ever happened. The Bible does not mention any such occasion. The *Jubilee Year was part of God’s perfect plan for the *Israelites. But perhaps it will not happen until God has created the New Earth. Then he will live among his people. And all these things will be possible.
Verses 1-7 The *Sabbath Day was the 7th day in the week. It reminded people that God rested on the 7th day. This was after he had made everything. So the *Sabbath for the land was every 7th year. And it was a year when the land rested. In other words, people did not plant their usual crops. The agricultural workers did not do their usual work. People did not harvest and store crops from the land. So in this year, the people would have more time for rest and for *worship.
*Vineyards were the gardens where people produced fruit. The fruits were called *grapes. They grow on plants called *vines. People made wine from *grapes. The rule about the *Sabbath Year also included other fruits. The *Jews could eat any fruit that grew. But it must be fruit that they had not sown. This would remind them of their journey from Egypt. They could not gather crops during the *Sabbath Year. So ‘all that (the land) gives you’ means the food that they ate fresh from the fields. They could eat it immediately, but they could not store it.
Verses 8-13 The *trumpet is a musical instrument. Today, we make them out of a metal called brass. During Moses’ life, people made ‘*trumpets’ from the *horns of animals. These *horns grew on the animals’ heads. The *Hebrew word for these ‘*trumpets’ was ‘yobel’. We get our word ‘*jubilee’ from this *Hebrew word ‘yobel’. The *Jews could not harvest what grew in their fields that year (verse 11). They had to eat what grew in the year before the *Sabbath Year (verse 12).
The *Jubilee Year began on the Day of *Atonement (see Leviticus 23:26-32). So it began when God forgave his people’s *sins. And during that year, God gave freedom to all his people. They returned to the places where their families lived. If they had sold their family’s land, God gave the land back to them again. God was making these things right again. And this should remind us that, in the future, God will make everything right.
Verses 14-18 It is against God’s law to carry on business in an unfair manner. We could translate part of verse 14 like this. ‘If you sell property to a man in your country, do not cheat him.’ Numbers 36:9 tells us that in the *Jubilee Year, land must go back to its original owner. Leviticus 25:24 also says this. The buyer did not own the land permanently. The land really belonged to God. He lent it to the people when they came into *Canaan. *Canaan was the old name of countries that we now call Palestine and *Israel. If the people wanted to remain in this land, they had to obey God.
Verses 19-24 So that people would not worry about food in the *Jubilee Year, God made them a promise. Remember, a *Jubilee Year followed a *Sabbath Year. That meant that the people would need food for 2 years. This would make the people trust God’s promises in verses 21-22.
Verses 25-28 The *Hebrew word for ‘relative’ is *goel. A *goel is a member of your family. There is a list of possible *goels in verses 48 and 49. Because a brother, uncle or cousin buys the property, it remains in the family. In the *Jubilee Year, the poor man could claim back his property. He could even claim it then if the *goel had not bought it back. The price to buy back the property before the *Jubilee Year depended on the number of years until then.
Verses 29-31 This is an exception to the *Jubilee Year rule. The reason is that in a city with walls there are no fields. And the *Jubilee Year rule is only about the return of the land.
There is a good reason for this exception. Some people, who were not *Israelites, would join the *Israelites. Those people would live in the cities. They should obey God’s law and they should believe God. Then God accepts them as *Israelites. But the law about the *Jubilee Year is completely fair. So those people do not lose their homes. Their right to live in the cities in Israel is a permanent right.
However, the agricultural workers would live outside the city walls. They had to live near the land where they worked. So when God gave the land back to the original families, he gave them houses to live in, too.
Verses 32-34 There were 13 *tribes, or large families, that came out of Egypt with Moses. Each *tribe contained *descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob. One of these sons, Joseph, had two *tribes. They were called by his sons’ names, Ephraim and Manasseh. 12 of the *tribes had land in *Canaan. One *tribe, called Levi, had no land. Instead, they had homes in 48 cities in *Canaan. The priests belonged to this *tribe. And the other members of this *tribe helped the priests. They were the *Levites. The cities were called ‘*Levites’ cities’. Most of the *Jews possessed land. The *Levites’ possession was houses. Outside their cities, the *Levites also had fields, which they could not sell. The *Levites had two important jobs to do:
They had to help the priests in the house of God.
They had to teach the people God’s laws and rules.
Verses 35-38 The ‘brother’ may mean a real brother, or a member of the same *tribe. James tells Christians to do the same for other (poorer) Christians, James 2:15-16.
Verses 39-46 The master must deal with the poor man as a wage earner. He is not a slave. In the 7th year, such a man could go free, Deuteronomy 15:12. If a *Jubilee Year came earlier, the man could go free then. However, if the man or woman or child is a foreigner, the rules are different. They will never be free.
Verses 47-55 Here is a list of ‘*goels’. The note on verse 25 explains the word ‘*goel’. If you are the poor man, the list starts with your brothers. They are close to you. Then uncles, either your mother’s or father’s brothers. Then your cousins. We do not really know where the list ended! The price depended on:
how many years there were until the *Jubilee; and
how many years the poor man had served.
Again, the owner must deal fairly with the man whom he is hiring. This is because the *Israelites are really God’s servants. This becomes clear every *Jubilee Year.
Something to do
1. Read Matthew 6:33. Compare it with the ideas of *Sabbath Years and *Jubilee Years.
2. Read Isaiah 5:8 and Amos 2:6. Do these verses seem to show that people did not obey the rules in Leviticus 25:1-24?
3. Read the stories in the Bible about *goels. They are in Ruth Chapter s 1 to 4 and Jeremiah chapter 32.
4. Read Joshua chapter 21 to find where the 48 *Levites’ cities were.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
Jewish ~ a word that describes Jews and what they do.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
vineyard ~ a garden or field where people produce grapes.
grapes ~ fruits that people use to make wine.
grapes ~ fruits that people use to make wine.
vine ~ a type of bush. The fruit of a vine is the grape.
grapes ~ fruits that people use to make wine.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument.
atonement ~ another word for what happens when God forgives us. After God forgives us, we are ‘at one’ with him. In other words, we are united as friends (or have friendly relations) with him.'Jubilee Year ~ a special year that happened once at the end of each period of 50 years.
Canaan ~ the old name for the countries afterwards called Israel and Judah.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
descendant ~ members of your family who live after you live.
Levite ~ a member of the tribe of Levi.
tribe ~ a very large family.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
vineyard ~ a garden or field where people produce grapes.
grapes ~ fruits that people use to make wine.
horn ~ hard material that grows on the heads of some animals like cows and goats. Or, the points that were on the corners of the altars.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.
incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
sin ~ to do wrong things; not to obey God’s rules. Or, the things we do when we sin. Evil thoughts, words and deeds are all sin, whether we do them on purpose or not.
goel ~ a member of your family who had to carry out special duties on your behalf. For example, the goel had to pay for your freedom if you became a slave. And he had a duty to buy back your family property if you had to sell it.
tribe ~ a very large family.